Well, it's not that great in its current state. I think that it shouldn't matter what minion wears it, as long as they come before whoever is dealing the damage. For example: minion #3 wears AoL, minion #4 benefits from it.
For the whole "leader" argument, one could argue that most leaders do not go head on and simply stand back and watch the fight elapse.

I think the AoL is one of the weakest items in the game right now, but it does have great potential. Forcing the user to equip it on the first minion makes it extremely difficult to use it effectively if your strategy does not involve a wall. That right there just instantly removes it from many peoples' arsenals, because there aren't many strategies that involve a wall. Anyways, the first minion can be killed off usually early in the fight, thus nullifying the effects early on. So unlike pretty much every single other item in the game, it requires not one, but TWO minions to stay alive (the wearer and the damage dealer) to be effective.

Also, you'd have no reason to incorporate the AoL into your strategy if you decide to target tanks. Tanks hit the first minion, except with the ax/exbows and MSK. If you're up against a traditional archer, your first minion is toast. Simple as that. Unless of course, it is a wall, but assuming it's not, it's toast. That eliminates the use of the AoL if your damage dealer is melee based. Let's say you go up against a melee based team. Well, your first minion still won't survive long, so assuming he isn't killed in ranged (if the opponent uses any ranged damage), you only have a few rounds of melee to make use of your worthless AoL. This item, along with the BoFs, definitely need some love. I think it should at least give some wiggle room and allow the user to equip it on any minion that comes before a damage dealer.

Considering the boost ability of DDs in the first place, the fact that leadership is very hard to use makes sense. Leadership alone can easily be the most boostable effect on DD out there, it's got to be balanced. What do you expect from leadership?

People don't realize how good BoFs are, they give a significant leadership and AC boost, little penalties, great upgrade curve. If we were to make leadership easier to slap onto minions, it'll be kinda, boring? It'll definitely become and necessity, which is a bad thing.

Since when was it required to have an AOL on the first minion? From what I understand the bonus only applies to minions after the minion wearing it. Not that it HAS to be on the first minion. In reality you should be able to have it on minion 3 for it to effect minions 4 and 5 (in the case of a familiar)

I still think that the AoL needs some love. Kind of like how tanks can boost their strength well over 100% with items (I'm not talking about the ToA), but mages can only boost their DD spells ~30% before the curve gets insane.

All I'm saying is if any minion were allowed to wear the AoL and any damage dealer behind the wearer received the bonus, it would make it a much more viable concept. No, that would not make the AoL a necessity because it directly competes with the other amulets, and people might not have an amulet spot to spare.